Some people may think I’m a little crazy, but I like snow! As long as I can remember, I have very fond memories of snow. It seems like, when we were kids, it would snow every winter. We all had sleds, skates, some kind of a hockey stick, bats, broom sticks or just a 2-by-4. There was an old wooden chair that had the back broken off, that I used to balance myself when I was learning to skate. On the farm, we had the only hills in the neighborhood, as well as the only pond that froze over every year. When the snow flew, the kids from all around would head to the slopes at the Pool’s. If you could set on it, and it would slide, it was a sled. I have ridden saucers, and sleds with rails, or runners, and even a scoop shovel. That was a wild ride!

One year for Christmas, my dad bought me the mother of all downhill death-defying modes of downhill thrill rides. It was a wooden toboggan! He showed me how to wax it up to make it go faster. Boy, did I wax that thing up. You could pile three or four kids on it. It seemed that the more the weight, the faster it went. We would pack the snow very hard. Then we would challenge each rider to see how he could get the fastest, farthest ride. There were some days when we started riding early in the morning, break for lunch, and then head back out again. Then we had to break to get the cows up for milking, feed them, and also the other animals, then go back out to sled again before it got dark. It seemed this went on all winter. I have to say that during those days with our neighbors, friendships grew that have lasted all my life.

The thrill of going faster and faster on the toboggan increased over the years. One of my best friend’s dad bought a 4-wheel drive International Scout. We had the toboggan. My friend’s dad pulled out a long cattle rope and tied it to the rear of the Scout. Well, he didn’t have to say anymore. My friend and I placed the sled behind the Scout. I got on the front of the sled. My friend was behind me. I grabbed the rope and off we went. The snow was very deep. My friend’s dad tried his best to knock us off the sled. I was a good toboggan handler from all the years of downhill thrills. The faster it went, the more fun it was. We were covered with snow. We did that for several years. Another good friend had a horse-training track. When it snowed, you could fly around the track on that toboggan behind the old Scout. Sometimes, now, when we get together, we talk about the old days with the old Scout and toboggan rides. I have to say that all this riding led me into riding a snow machine. Now, I enjoy plowing snow. If I could go back to anytime in my life, I would have to say I would go anytime and anywhere there was snow!